Fluid dispenser



April 19, 1960 Filed Jan. 29, 1958 W. WALDHERR FLUID DISPENSER I5 Sheets-Sheet 1 /NVEN'OP www www ma April 19, 1960 w. WALDHERR 2,933,222

FLUID DISPENSER Filed Jan. 29, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 mmf/W04D WILHE LM WMD uff-:RR By H14 *6a/T April 19, 1960 w. WALDHERR 2,933,222

FLUID DISPENSER Filed Jan. 29. 1958 3 Sheets-SheetI 3 FIG. 3

INVENfP WILHEm wkwm Ry g United vStates I Patent "a FLUID DISPENSER l Wilhelm Waldherr, Mannheim, Germany Application January 29, 1958, Serial No. 712,010

Claims priority, application Germany July 4, 1957 8 Claims. (Cl. 222-394) The present invention relates to fluid dispensing devices, and more particularly to dispensing valve structures adapted to discharge from a container a fluid under pressure.

In my Patent No. 2,858,053, granted October 28, 1958, I have described and claimed a fluid dispensing device adapted to be mounted on the discharge opening of a container and comprising a Valve means including a tubular valve shaft longitudinally reciprocable in a valve housing. The container may be filled with uid under pressure through an axial bore in the valve shaft and the iluid under pressure may be dispensed from the container through the valve means in metered amounts.

This invention is concerned with improvements in such a uid dispensing valve structure.

It is one object of the invention to provide a fluid dispenser including expansion chamber means for the fiuid discharged through the valve to obtain a relatively gentle spray.

It is another object of the invention to provide a uid dispenser Whose valve structure may be fully assembled and mounted on an empty container, permitting filling of the container with fluid under pressure through the assembled valve structure on which, in certain embodiments of the invention, even the spray head may be mounted during the filling operation.v

lIt is a particular advantage of the latter embodiments of the present invention that it eliminates the waste of uid occurring when some fluid is automatically discharged from the filled container at the time the spray head is mounted on the valve. Also, valve and spray head need no longer be counted, packed, shipped and stored separately but are assembled as a unit in a single operation at the filling station. This assures continuous, rapid and economical manufacture.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a fluid metering chamber between the valve shaft and the valve housing, whose size may be simply changed by changing the dimensions of the valve shaft portion cooperating with the valve housing to define the metering Chamber.

lt is a further object of the invention to provide a fluid dispenser adapted to discharge two successive metered sprays of fluid during a single working stroke.

`It is still a further object of the invention to provide stop means to-delimit the downward or working stroke of the valve means.

vThe above and other objects and advantages are accomplished in accordance with the present invention by providing a fluid dispensing valve structure adapted to be mounted on a container in a fluid-tight manner and essentially comprising a tubular Valve housing extending into the container and in communication with its interior, a tubular valve shaft extending into the valve housing with a skirt portion thereof and extending out of the valve housing and the container with a portion adapted to receive a spray head, said outwardly extending valve shaft portion having an axial lluid passage throughout its length, and Aa valve Patented Apr. i9, 1.960

head guided by said valve shaft skirt portion and mounted on a compression spring in the, valve housingY biased vto press the valve head into .closing relationship with't-lie valve shaft bore, and to press the valve shaft upwardly. An annular metering chamber is defined between the valve shaft skirt portion and the valve housing. f' Passage means is provided to interconnect the interior of the container and of the valve housing with the metering chamber in the upward or rest position of the valve shaft while the axial fluid passage of the shaft is out of communication with the metering chamber, and to interconnect the axial shaft fluid passage andthe metering chamber while the latter may or may not be out of communication with the said interior.

Yln accordance with one embodiment of the invention, there is provided a rst passage means between the metering chamber and the interior of the valve housing andy a second passage means in the valve shaft portion surrounding the axial uid passage, sealing means for the first passage means being so mounted as to seal oi communication between the metering chamber and said interior when the valve shaft is depressed into a dispensing position, and the second passage means being so positioned on the shaft that it will communicate with the metering chamber only in said dispensing position.

According to one modification, two successive ports are provided in the valve shaft skirt portion, the second port remaining in communication with the interior while the second passage means is already in communication with the metering chamber in an intermediate dispensing posih tion and being sealed oil only in the end position whereby two metered sprays are discharged in a single working stroke.

Obviously, each passage means may consist of one or more ports positioned on the same plane, depending on the fluid flow desired;

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent by reference to the following detailed description of some specic embodiments thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a dispensing device according to one embodiment of the invention, providing one metered spray per working stroke;

Fig. 2 shows a similar view of another embodimenL'providing two metered sprays per working stroke; and

Fig. 3 shows a similar view of yet another embodiment.

In the drawing, the same reference Ynumerals are applied to identical parts in -all embodiments and such identically numbered parts are substantially identical in structure, function and operation. Therefore, to eliminate confusing duplication, these parts, their inter-relationship and their function will be described only in conjunction with a single embodiment, such description applying to all em-Ql bodiments Where these parts appear.

Referring now to the embodiment of Fig. 1, where the dispensing device or valve is in rest position, there is shown a flanged container neck 1 having an open top receiyingthe dispensing structure. The container may be of glass or any other suitable material and is adapted to hold ,a fluid under pressure. The dispensing device of the pres,- ent invention is adapted to dispense the fluid in metered amounts from the container through its open neck porl tion.

As shown, the dispensing valve structure is mounted on the container neck by means of a cap closure 2 which is an annular shaped member of sheet metal or other sheet material surrounding the flanged container neck port-ion and extending thereabove to hold the dispensing device-,iny position. The lower end 2a of the cap closure is rolled inwardly over the neck ilange 1a and frictionally engagegit to provide a fluid-tight seal. v z l Dispensing valve housing 3 comprises a tubular upper' portion 4 and a tubular lower portion 6 of smaller diameter, the two tubular valve housing portions being connected by shoulder 31. About midway between its ends, the upper housing portion 4 has connected thereto or integral therewith an annular flange 5 constituting the support of the valve housing on the container neck. A nozzle 7 is attached to or integral with the lower housing portion 6 to receive a hose 8 extending to the bottom of the container (not shown). The hose is of any suitable flexible material, such as natural or synthetic rubber, plastic or the like. lf the valve housing 4, 6 is of a suitable synthetic resin, hose 8 may be integral with the housing and nozzle 7 may be eliminated.

The valve housing 3 is mounted on the container neck by means of flange 5, a resilient sealing ring or like packing 9 being interposed between flange 5 and the top of the container neck. A second resilient sealing ring 1t) is placed on top of the upper valve housing portion 4 where it is positioned between the top of the housing and an inwardly extending annular flange 2b of the cap 2. In this manner, the mounting of the valve housing on the container neck is fluid-tight. The sealing rings 9 and 10 may be made of any suitable elastic material, such as rubber.

A valve shaft 11 having a central bore 12 is inserted into valve housing 3. The valve shaft includes annular flange 13 which is slidable in upper valve housing portion 4 but is of slightly smaller diameter so as to leave an annular slot 30 between flange 13 and housing portion 4. Tubular extension or skirt 14 of somewhat smaller diameter than the flange 13 is attached to or integral with the flange. The extension 14 engages the inner wall of lower' valve housing portion 6 whereby the valve shaft structure 11, 13, 14 is centered in the valve housing 3. The outer wall of skirt 14 and the inner wall of upper housing portion 4 define an annular metering chamber 15 in communication with annular slot 30. A lateral port 16 is provided near the end of skirt 14 to connect metering chamber 15 with the interior of the container. As shown, in the rest position of the device, the port 16 is substantially coplanar with shoulder 31 in the valve housing.

Valve head 17 is resiliently mounted in valve housing 3 by means of compression spring 19 which engages the bottom 6a of the valve housing and a shoulder of the valve head. The spring is biased to press the Valve head upwardly against resilient sealing plate 18 which normally seals oft bore 12 from the interior of the valve housing and from the interior of the container.

Spray head 20 is mounted on and frictionally engages parts of valve shaft 11. In the embodiment of Fig. 1, the spray head is provided with an annular rim 21 surrounding the upper end of the valve shaft. The interior of the spray head has a sleeve 22 facing constricted portion of the valve shaft to form an annular chamber 23 between the shaft and the sleeve. Sleeve 22 has a lateral port 24 which, as shown, is so positioned that it lies above or opposite packing 10 in the rest position of the dispensing device. Lateral bore 27 communicates with annular chamber 23 and carries stopper 25 provided with a fine bore 26. The structure 27, 26, forms the spray nozzle of the dispensing device. Since the stopper 25 is replaceable, this structure has the advantage of providing different size spray nozzles with the same dispensing valve since Stoppers with different size bores may be used.

The spray head is provided with an elongated sleeve 28 which surrounds the cap 2. lf desired, the sleeve 28 may extend even further down than shown so as to contact the upper surface of the container (not shown) adjacent the container neck when the dispensing device is depressed to its lowermost position. ln this manner, the upper container surface may serve as a stop delimiting the downward movement of the dispensing valve. This, however, may also be accomplished in the illustrated 4 manner by providing in the interior of the spray head a stop plate element 29 which, in its lowermost position, contacts cap 2. Another manner of delimiting the working stroke of the dispensing device is to make the tubular extension or skirt 14 of such length that it will contact the bottom 6a of valve housing portion 6 when the valve shaft is in its lowermost position.

lf found desirable, the spray head sleeve 28 may extend all the way down to the end of the container or even farther to enclose the entire container.

The dispensing device structure of the invention operates as follows:

The dispensing device is mounted on a container adapted to hold liquid under pressure to be sprayed in atomized form. With the device in position, the container is filled by attaching a source of the desired mixture of liquid and a suitable propellant gas to the outer end of valve shaft 11 in a fluid-tight manner. The liquid and the propellant gas or a mixture thereof are fed from the source into bore 12 under suicient pressure to move sealing plate 18 and valve head 17 downwardly against the pressure of spring 19 so as to establish a communication between bore 12 and the interior of the valve housing 6 which, in turn, communicates with the interior of the container through hose 8. When the container is filled with liquid and propellant gas to a suitable level the fluid supply source is disconnected from valve shaft 11, causing the valve head and sealing plate to return to the closed position under the pressure of spring 19. The interior of the container is thus sealed from the outside after the container is filled.

In the rest position of the valve, as shown in Fig. l, metering chamber 15 communicates with the interior of the container through lateral-port 16 so that the metering chamber remains filled with fluid as long as there is liquid and propellant gas in the container. Since the annular slot 30 between valve shaft flange 13 and the inner wall of the valve housing 3 is sealed by ring 10 in the rest position of the device, no fluid can escape from the metering chamber 15.

When it is desired to spray liquid from the container, pressure is applied to spray head 20 to depress valve shaft 11, thus moving port 16 below shoulder 31 between valve housing portions 4 and 6. This causes metering chamber 15 to be closed off from the interior of the container. Simultaneously, port 24 in the spray head wall moves below sealing ring 10 into communication with metering chamber 15. This causes the liquid-propellant gas mixture to escape from the metering chamber through annular chamber 15 and port 24 into the annular chamber 23. The fluid mixture expands in annular chamber 23 and lateral bore 27 and thus is sprayed through nozzle 26 with reduced pressure, assuring a relatively gentle spray. Obviously, the spray pressure can be adjusted by suitably dimensioning the successive chambers 15, 23 and 27 to permit more or less expansion of the metered fluid in chambers 23 and 27. As long as the spray head and the valve shaft remain depressed, no additional fluid is fed to the metering chamber from the interior of the container since port 16 is sealed off. Accordingly, no further fluid will be sprayed after the fluid amount in the metering chamber is exhausted, thus assuring accurate metering of the iluid amount dispensed through the spraying nozzle.

When the spray head is released to return to its rest position under the combined pressure of spring 19 and the propellant gas in the interior of the container, port 24 moves above the sealing ring, thus interrupting communication between the metering chamber and the spraying nozzle while port 16 simultaneously re-established communication between the interior of the container and the metering chamber. The metering chamber is immediately filled with liquid-propellant gas mixture and the device is ready for the next spraying operation.

It is advantageous to provide a mark, for instance an assegna arrow or a brightly colored dot, on the spray head, for instance.r annular rim. 21,' to locate the fine spray opening which may otherwise bey diliicult to find by .thelusen The embodiment of Fig. 2is in most respects similar to that of Fig. 1 and its structure and operation will be described only inasfar as it differs from the dispensing device illustrated in Fig. 1.

Instead of a conical Valve head, I provide a simple valve plate 17 to seal the interior of the container. Also. the valve is so constructed as to provide two metered sprays or a continuous spray to nozzle 26'. If two metered sprays are desired, a second lateral port 16' is provided in valve shaft skirt 14 to lprovide an additional communicating passage between the interior of the container and metering chamber 15. Thus, when spray head 20 is depressed, Vthe fluid content of metering chamber 15, to which there is added a small amount of fluid flow.- ing into the ychamber through port 16 ows through annular slot 30, port 24 and annular chamber 23 into spray nozzle 26. When the spray head is released, additional Huid immediately enters the metering chamber from the interior of the container as soon asport 16' glides upwardly above shoulder 31 in the valve housing, providing a second amount of spray liquid to nozzle 26 as the spray headl moves upwardly. Depending on the distance of port 16,' from the end of skirt 14, the first and second amount of metered spray liquid may be varied.

-The spray head 20 in the embodiment of Fig. 2 fully surrounds the valve shaft 11 and is frictionally mounted thereover. To permit access to the interior vof the container through bore 12, the spray head has a bore 12' coaxial with bore 12. The spray nozzle bore 26' is machined directly into the spray head so that expansion of spraying liquid liowing from metering chamber into annular `chamber 231 can take place onlyy in the latter. The skirt 28' of spray head 20'is preferably `of such length that its end will contact cap 2 when the device is in its lowermost position.

As will be evident from the drawing, the dispensing device of Fig. 2 operates in all other respects exactly as that illustrated in Fig. l, the fluid source being connected tok spray head bore 12 during filling.

Fig. 3 illustrates yet another valve shaft structure and spray head. As shown, the valve shaft skirt has a beveled lower edge 32 providing a communicating port ybetween the interior of the container and the metering chamber in the rest position of the device. When the spray head and valve shaft are depressed and the valve shaft skirt moves downwardly until its rim 33 is positioned below shoulder 31 of the valve housing 3, the metering chamber is disconnected from the interior of the container.

The annular chamber between the valve shaft skirt and the upper valve housing portion 4, which serves as metering chamber, may be varied without varying the dimensions of the housing. As shown at the left side of the figure, this may be done by giving the outside wall of valve shaft skirt 14 different diameters, the volume of chamber 15 varying with the height of shoulder 34. If desired, the valve shaft skirt may be mounted detachably on the valve shaft so that different size skirts may be used with the valve.

In addition to the changes in the valve shaft structure, Fig. 3 also shows a different embodiment of a spray head. Similarly to the spray head of Fig. 2, it is frictonally mounted over the valve shaft 11 and surrounds the same. In connection with valve bore 12 there is provided a small axial bore 35 in the spray head, the latter bore being connected with lateral spray nozzle 26". 'Ihe interconnected or interconnectable series of chambers provides controlled communication between the interior of the container and the atmosphere, as described in connection with the other embodiments of the invention.

The downward stroke of the dispensing device may be delimited by various means. For instance, shoulder 34 of skirt 14 may engage shoulder 31 of the valve housing.

The lower edge 36 of the skirt may contact the bottom of the valve housing. A recessed portion of the sprayk head may be providedwith shoulders 37 to contact cap 2 in the desired lowermost position of the device; Other suitable stop means will readily occur to -the skilled in the art. t f When the spray head is depressed from the illustrated rest position, the lateral port 38 in valve shaft 11 will move from a position above sealing ring 10 into the interior ofI valve housing 3, thus establishing communication between the metering chamber and spray nozzle 2-6 through port 38, bore 12 and bore 35. The latter bores, whose dimensions may be suitably varied to serve the desired purpose, serve as expansion chambers for the spraying liquid mixture so that its pressure will be diminished and a gentle spray will be emitted from the nozzle. As long as the spray head remains depressed to seal off communication between the interior of the container and the metering chamber, i.e. as long as beveled edge 32-of the valve shaft skirt is below'shoulder 31v of the valve housing, no further fluid will be'fed` to the metering chamber or the nozzle. This` embodiment accordingly provides one metered spray per working stroke. When the spray head is released to move upwardly into its rest position, port 38 will again move above the sealing ring 10, thus interrupting communication between the interior or of the container and the spraying nozzle.

In all other respects, the structure, functions and operation of the dispensing device of Fig. 3 are the same as that of the preceding figures, the location of the spraying nozzle again preferably being marked, for instance by a button 39, an arrow, a dot, a line or other suitable marking. l

While the invention has been described in detail in connection with certain preferred embodiments, it will'be clearly understood that many modifications and' variations in the structure may occur to the skilled in the art without changing its functions or departing from the spirit and scope of this invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is: l. A fluid dispensing device adapted to be mounted on the openftop of a container and to constitute its closure, comprising in combination: a tubular valve housing adapted to lit into the open container top, a tubular valve shaft longitudinally glidable in said valve housing, said valve shaft having a shaft portion extending outside said valve housing and a skirt portion extending inside said valve housing, fluid passage means being provided in said outwardly and inwardly extending valve shaft portions, an annular cap for mounting the assembled valve shaft and housing in a duid-tight manner on the open container top, a resilient annular sealing means mounted between the cap and the outer end of the valve housing, a cornpression spring supported in said valve housing, a valve head mounted on said compression spring in glidable engagement within and surrounded by said valve shaft skirt portion, the valve head and the skirt portion defining an annular slot therebetween, a flange means between said outwardly extending valve shaft portion and said inwardly extending skirt portion, said flange means being substantially coplanar with said outer end of the valve housing and said resilient annular sealing means being mounted between said flange means and said cap, said flange means and said outer end of the valve housing defining an annular slot therebetween, a resilient sealing member disposed between and engaged by the valve head and said valve shaft flange at the inward end of the axial bore in the outwardly extending valve shaft portion, the compression spring being so biased as to press the valve head against said sealing member and flange means to provide a fluid-tight seal and to press the valve shaft outwardly into a rest position, the skirt portion of the valve shaft and the valve housing defining an annular fluid metering chamber, a spray head mounted on the outwardly extending valve shaft portion, spray nozzle means in said spray head, first port means interconnecting the interior of the valve housing with the metering chamber at least in said rest position while the metering chamber is out ofcommunication with said spray nozzle means, second fluid passage means interconnecting the spray nozzle means and the metering chamber in a dispensing position through the annular slot between the flange means and the valve housing when the valve shaft is depressed inwardly against the bias of the compression spring, and a bore in said spray head in communication with the atmosphere and with the fluid passage means in the outwardly extending valve shaft portion whereby the container may be filled with fluid under pressure through said latter bores and the annular slot between the valve head and the valve shaft skirt when the fluid pressure presses the sealing member away from said flange means against the compression spring bias and provides a fluid passage from the axial bore to said last-named annular slot and into the interior of the valve housing.

2. The fluid dispensing device of claim l, wherein the valve housing comprises a larger diameter upper portion surrounding the valve shaft skirt and a lower portion of substantially the same diameter as the skirt and adapted to receive the skirt when the valve shaft is depressed into the dispensing position, said first port means being provided at the end of the skirt to interconnect the metering chamber and the interior of the valve housing in the rest position but to disconnect them as soon as the valve shaft is depressed and the lower valve housing portion seals the port means.

3. The fluid dispensing device of claim 2, wherein said valve shaft skirt-has a beveled end and said first port means is an annular passage defined between the beveled skirt end and the upper valve housing portion.

4. The fluid dispensing device of claim 2, comprising an additional port means in the valve shaft skirt intermediate its ends, said additional port means interconnecting the metering chamber and the interior of the valve housing in the rest position and in an intermediate dispensing position when the valve shaft is partially depressed but disconnecting them as soon as the valve shaft is sufficiently depressed for the lower valve housing portion to seal the additional port means.

5. In combination with a fluid dispensing valve structure including a tubular valve housing, a tubular valve shaftv resiliently reciprocable in the valve housing, said valve shaft having a portion with an axial bore extending outwardly of said valve housing and a portion with an axial bore extending inwardly into the valve housing, a valve head yieldably separating said axial bores and mounted to move with the valve shaft during its reciprocation in the valve housing, and fluid metering means in said valve housing; a spray head including an inner sleeve fluid-tightly mounted on the outwardly extending valve shaft portion, an annular fluid expansion chamber being defined between the inner spray head sleeve and a recessed longitudinal section of the outwardly extending valve shaft portion, a lateral port means in said sleeve in communication with said fluid expansion chamber, a spray nozzle means outwardly spaced from the lateral port means and in communication with said fluid expansion chamber, said lateral port means being positionable by the reciprocation of the valve shaft and spray head said lateral port means being positionable out of communication with said fluid metering means in a rest position and into communication with the fluid metering means in a dispensing position, and passage means in said spray head permitting access to the axial bore in the outwardly extending valve shaft portion.

6. The fluid dispensing device of claim 1, wherein said valve housing has a shoulder at its inner end and the valve shaft skirt is arranged to engage said housing shoulder upon depression of the valve shaft to delimit the inward stroke of the shaft in the dispensing position.

7. The fluid dispensing device of claim l, wherein the valve shaft skirt has a stepped outer wall wherein the annular metering chamber defined between said stepped wall and' said valve housing has portions of different diameter.

8. The fluid dispensing device of claim 1, wherein the valve shaft skirt is replaceably mounted on the valve shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,701,163 Teller et al. Feb. l, 1955 2,721,010 Meshberg Oct. 18, 1955 2,746,796 St. Germain May 22, 1956 2,788,925 Ward Apr. 16, 1957 2,812,884 Ward Nov. 12, 1957 

